by Eric and Joanna Reuter, Field Trip Coordinators

September is the traditional start of the CAS field trip season and your field trip coordinators are excited to be planning a diverse set of birding opportunities over the coming year.  You can review past and future event listings on the CAS website. Here’s a brief report on the past year and what’s coming up.

Past year

From September 2023 through August 2024, CAS ran 38 field trips with an average attendance of 15 (3–28) and an average species count of 27 (3–53), both consistent with 2023-2024. The introduction of standard Second Saturday trips along with the now-traditional First Friday trips has helped with field trip leader recruitment and trip planning. We’re so grateful to all the volunteer leaders who have stepped up to make our trips happen.

Plans for 2024-2025

Expansion: A primary goal in 2024-2025 is to expand our geographic reach to expose Columbia birders to more areas beyond Boone County and introduce populations beyond Columbia to birding and CAS. One step in this direction is a planned trip to visit Moberly’s beautiful urban Rothwell Park on October 19, coordinated with Moberly Parks & Recreation to expand outreach to local residents. Other upcoming trips outside of Boone County include Runge Conservation Nature Center and The Big Sit at Swan Lake NWR.

Leaders needed: We are always in need of volunteers to lead field trips. More people helping out takes time pressure off our most faithful leaders. You do NOT need to be a skilled birder to make a trip happen; the primary role is logistical, not educational. Please read the guidelines for leaders published on the CAS site and consider volunteering to make a field trip happen. Creative ideas are welcome; for just two examples, a volunteer suggested and led CAS’s first-ever “birding by bike” trip, which was reported as great fun, and we also led a walk in Rocheport following a resident’s request, which drew a number of new people. Everyone is encouraged to read the guidelines for participants on the CAS site.

Trip posting: The CAS website will continue to be the primary place for field trips and other events to be posted. The official listings here will be updated as necessary, so always check the website before heading out. While CAS does use Facebook to spread the word, social media is not universally used or accessible, so the website is the default location for information. Be sure to sign up for the CAS field trip email list to get auto-reminders about upcoming trips.

• Your field trip co-coordinators, Eric & Joanna Reuter (cherthollow@gmail.com).